First Federal Savings Bank
Branding

For over one hundred years, First Federal has been serving the Champaign-Urbana community. In that time, many things have changed, but their commitment to the customer has always been the top priority. While many logos have been the face of First Federal over the past century, their reputation, dedication and the honest desire to help their customers get what they want out of life has always been the face of this financial institution. We were thrilled at the opportunity to rebrand this local icon, and provide them with a brand standards manual to help prepare them for the needs of tomorrow.

The eagle has represented First Federal in one way or another for decades. It’s a symbol of strength, protection, and national pride. The new mark we created retains these qualities while adding the sense of motion, progress and vitality. It draws inspiration from the forms of an eagle in flight, traditional shield insignia, as well as First Federal’s past. These themes reinforce the ideas of security, protection, strength and stability. The abstracted, simplified shapes and brighter color palette emphasize a clean and contemporary design that makes the logo far more adaptable to the ever-changing technological needs of the future.

From the beginning, the idea was to design a logo with the ability to adapt to new services and brands. Creating consistency across all brands will elevate all communications with customers and strengthen their overall message. All logos going forward will use the new icon, with color and text being the brand identifier. Doing this gives audiences the proper context for how ancillary brands fit into the First Federal organization with less explanation than before. At the same time, the color shift will provide enough differentiation between brands to retain a unique identity.

First Federal’s goal as a financial institution is to help their customers get what they want out of life. It has been that way since 1908. They pride themselves on their exceptional customer service. Whether it be a car, a home, an education, or saving for the future, First Federal wants to be the financial institution trusted most. We crafted a tagline to accompany the new branding. One that clearly defines the bank’s goals – to help turn dreams into a reality.

Get what you want out of life.

“Get what you want out of life” doesn’t define what our customer wants. We’re not pretending to know what they want, we’re leaving it up to them, which is a much stronger statement.